What I'd do for my Brother
by Queen Edmund Pevensie
Summary: Edmund is afraid of thunder, and during class, a storm hits, causing Edmund to leave class. Peter comes to find him and they share a short moment.   First one, K plus'cause I'm nervous. NO slash


**Disclaimer: Narnia and her characters belong to C.S. Lewis, and everything else you happen to recognize, belongs to their respective owners. **

**A/N: My first one! Read and review!  
**

What I'd do for my Brother

Edmund Pevensie sat in class, staring distractedly out the window. It was a dreary day, and thick gray clouds obscured the sky. Rain was just beginning to fall. Soft, heavy drops plopped onto the ground, making the puddles, still present from the rain the night before, swell.

Edmund groaned and put his head on his desk. Angie, the annoying know-it-all who sat next to him, kicked him. He ignored her. His friend Matt threw a piece of paper at him.

Scowling, Edmund turned to face him. _Open it_, Matt mouthed. Thoroughly irritated, Edmund unfolded the paper Matt had thrown at the back of his head.

_Wake up, Pevensie! Johnson's already on your case!_

Edmund scowled again. It was true, Mr. Johnson, their teacher, was at a breaking point with Edmund. He had had both Peter and Susan in years past, and was ecstatic to have yet another Pevensie. Unfortunately, under the best of circumstance, Edmund knew he could not perform to the standards Peter had left for him. Peter was the perfect student: top of the class, compassionate, a good leader, he was never in any serious trouble, other than what was regarded as a schoolboy's fun, and still possessing some sense of humility. As of late, Edmund had been anything but the perfect student. He was failing, knowing next to nothing, and he seemed not to care at all. He was always getting into fights. It was not his fault. Edmund naturally had a short temper, and people were being insensitive, which made him angry. Edmund knew that Mr. Johnson was this close to sending a note home for his mother. Matt, though, never seemed to care. Edmund turned to face Matt again. "Why do you care?" he hissed. Matt shrugged, and resumed staring at the clock.

Sighing heavily, Edmund tried to pay attention to the lesson, but soon found himself engrossed (or far more engrossed) in the dull day outside of the classroom. Edmund put his head down again, and tried to make-up some of the sleep he missed last night.

He would not admit it to any of his friends, or his family even, but Edmund was still afraid of thunder. He did not like to talk about it with anyone, though the question was asked frequently. It was embarrassing to be nine-years-old and afraid of thunder the way a child would be. The storm the night before had woken him from his sleep and kept him up the rest of the night.

"Mr. Pevensie, pay attention," Mr. Johnson called across the room.

"Yes sir," said Edmund wearily, picking his head up off his desk. Edmund stared out the window some more. The rain was falling steadily now. What he would give to be anywhere but school right now. Why couldn't Mr. Johnson teach something interesting for once? Then maybe Edmund and his friends would listen.

Suddenly, Edmund tensed. Several girls jumped. "It's quite all right," Mr. Johnson assured them. "All it is is a thunder storm. You won't even notice."

_Oh yea I will, _Edmund thought. _But I'll make it through. It'll be over in a few minutes, _Edmund said to himself. _I can just sit here and wait it out. _

The first flash of lightning lit up the sky. Edmund closed his eyes. _I have to be able to do this, _he thought.

Another crack and the classroom was momentarily lit up. All of the girls screamed, and most of the boys jumped. All of the blood drained from Edmund's face. He shot up and walked as fast was his legs, that were feeling rather wobbly, could carry him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mr. Johnson stopped Edmund at the door.

"I need the nurse," he said in as steady as a voice he could muster.

Mr. Johnson surveyed him for a few moments and nodded. "Yes, you do," he agreed finally. "Can you make it alone?" Edmund nodded. "Off you go, then," Edmund opened the door with a shaky hand and let it slam shut behind him.

Edmund started for the nurse, hoping she would let him lie down, if only for a few minutes. He did not get that far though. Another clap of thunder brought him to his knees, and his legs were shaking so bad by this point, Edmund could not stand up again. Edmund was scared. He did not know any of the students or teachers in any of the surrounding classrooms. What if someone came out to use the bathroom and saw him sitting there, terrified by something as ridiculous as thunder? What if Peter found out?

He did not know what to do. He could not find the strength to get up. So Edmund remained paralyzed in fear until something happened.

And something did happen, indeed. The power went off. The flickering lights shut off and the hallways were thrown into pitch darkness. With a particularly loud rumble of thunder that shook the school, the hallway lit up briefly. The sky had been tinged an awful orange lit up briefly. The suddenness of the thunder surged, shocked Edmund and sent the tears of fear, that he had so far kept clear of, to his eyes.

The power came back on, but the light could not stop the tears from his flowing down Edmund's face. There he sat as the storm made its way closer to the school. Soon it was right overhead and every clap rattled the windows.

Edmund looked up; he heard another sound than the rain on the roof and the thunder outside. It was the sound of hurried footsteps rushing down the hallway.

Peter appeared around the corner. Edmund bowed his head, embarrassed. Peter would see him, cowering against the wall, blubbering like an idiot. Edmund would send him away, if Peter stopped, before he realized what the matter was. Except, Edmund wanted Peter to stay. He wanted Peter to ask him what was wrong. He wanted Peter to hug him the way he hugged Lucy and Susan. He wanted Peter to be with him more than he had ever wanted anything before.

"Ed?" Peter called, catching sight of his baby brother and sprinting down the hall. "Oh, God Edmund!" He ran to him and knelt down beside him. Peter brushed Edmund's dark hair out of his eyes. "Are you all right?" he asked. "As soon as the storm, started, I had to take a not to his room anyway, I went to Mr. Johnson's room and asked him where you were. He said that you went to the nurse, which you obviously didn't."

"I was going there," he defended.

"I'm so glad I found you," Peter said, and he threw his arms around Edmund. With another clap of thunder, Edmund started to cry, silently, again. "I'll stay, if you want." He took Edmund silence as a "yes."

Together they sat, Peter's arm wrapped comfortingly around his brother as they waited for the storm to pass. Susan and then Lucy came and sat with them, but Susan felt guilty for cutting class and Lucy wanted to go see her friends at lunch.

It was an unusually long storm and lasted through all three of the lunches. As students exited the classrooms, Peter and Edmund drew many curious glances, but no one said anything to them, and so they did not move. Edmund did not notice, and Peter did not care that they both skipped lunch.

Finally, the thunder stopped and the rain dwindled. The rain plopped softly on the roof. "Ed?" he asked gently. "Are you ready to go back to class?" Edmund sniffled; still not fully recovered from the shock he just had, but nodded. Peter stood. Edmund followed him and grabbed his hand; he pretended as if this was a normal occurrence. Peter frowned but did not comment; secretly, he enjoyed the feeling of Edmund's hand wrapped securely around his own.

Peter walked Edmund to his classroom. They walked in silence. Nothing needed to be said. Peter and Edmund did not always, or ever really, see eye to eye. There were moments though that the two very different boys were unmistakably brothers.

Still holding his hand, Peter turned to Edmund. "You okay?"

Edmund shrugged, but turned to enter the classroom. Before he could lay a finger on the handle though, Peter planted a kiss on Edmund's raven head.

"I love you Eddy," Peter reminded him.

"Love you too," grunted Edmund, and he threw his arms around Peter's middle. "Thank you," he said wetly from Peter's shirt. "For staying with me. For coming to find me. Love you too, Peter. Love you so much."


End file.
